Coach Steve Kerr, Warriors players praise Mavs rookie Luka Doncic

The Golden State Warriors believe that Dallas Mavericks rookie Luka Doncic is not only an All-Star-caliber player but also a superstar in the making. Even on a night when Stephen Curry scored 48 points and hit 11 3-pointers in a 119-114 win over the Mavericks, it was Doncic’s promise that was a large topic of postgame conversation for the back-to-back NBA champions.

“He’s unbelievable,” Curry said of Doncic. “You can tell he’s just experienced in terms of playing high-level basketball. A guy that’s always at his own pace. I’m sure he had heard all the doubters and people talking about his game who really didn’t know much about him, and he’s made himself known for sure. It’s fun to watch in terms of the future of the league.”

“I haven’t really done the math,” Kerr said. “I haven’t gone line by line. So I probably threw that out there without truly doing my homework. I do have a vote for reserves.cheap nfl jerseys nike china I think what I meant to say is he sure looks like an All-Star. So whether he makes it or not, he’s an All-Star. Certain guys just stand out. You see what they do, you see what they mean to the game. And if he doesn’t make it this year, he’s going to make it soon enough.”

After watching the 19-year-old rookie go off for 26 points, six rebounds and five assists later in the night, the strong opinions about Doncic’s game only strengthened.

Like many around the league, Warriors All-Star forward Kevin Durant believes that Doncic’s time as a professional in Europe has made his adjustment to the NBA that much smoother.

“He’s playing great ball,” Durant said. “Definitely for a 19-year-old to average 20 [points], six [rebounds] and five [assists] is definitely numbers you can look at and consider him for an All-Star selection, but there’s so many great players out there at his position, so you never know, but just his poise for the game, his step-back 3 — that’s what he wants to get to most of the time. He’s big and strong, can pass, can play in the pick-and-roll. He played in Europe last season. The rest of the rookie class played in college. So he’s in the second-best league in the world learning how to play the game.”

With Kerr having spent much of his professional life in and around the NBA, what stands out most to him is the ease with which Doncic is accomplishing all of this at age 19.

“You just don’t see it very often,” Kerr said. “Very rarely. I’ll bet we could go over the last decade and only find a handful of teenagers who have made this kind of impact in the league.”